Advocacy

CEO's Response to Council's Approval of the City's First Multi-Year Budget

Dec 6, 2021

Today, Shakiba Shayani, President & CEO, Guelph Chamber of Commerce, released the following statement in reaction to City Council’s 2022-2023 budget: 

The Chamber commends council for approving the City’s first multi-year budget.  

As noted in our budget delegation to council, we know that businesses and employers are facing extraordinary pressures. New data from the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions shows rising costs remain the biggest obstacle for businesses right now and into the new year, with 43% of businesses saying they are the biggest hurdle to recovery. At the same time, a vast majority of private-sector businesses (89%) don’t expect their profitability to improve over the next three months, while more than one-third expect it to decline. This is a significant part of the economy standing still or sliding backwards. This is a significant concern for families who will continue to have to make difficult decisions about their livelihoods. 

With Guelph residents facing the largest tax increase in more than a decade, the Chamber urges accountability for the intended and unintended impacts of this tax increase, especially as the economic landscape shifts and produces continued uncertainty and instability.